Soft tissue injuries are very common. Knee pain, for example, is a complaint in up to 20% of the general adult population, accounting for almost 3 million outpatient and emergency department visits per year. Trauma to the knee is the second most common occupational accident. In National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football, 1 major knee injury occurs per team every year. Sports-related activity accounts for approximately 60% of knee injuries producing ligamentous laxity.
Another common complaint associated with defects in soft tissue is spinal pain which has been estimated to exist in as much as 66% of the general population. Beyond the substantial discomfort that back pain inflicts upon individuals, spine-related pain also incurs heavy societal costs. For example, as many as one million spinal surgeries, and as many as five million interventional procedures, are estimated to be performed in the United States each year. Well beyond the purely medical and psychological burdens imposed by such procedures, the subsequent societal costs related to productivity, disability compensation and lost taxes are substantial.
Currently, there are no effective alternatives for treatment of soft tissue injuries. Although there are many therapeutic medications that are commonly used in the management of soft-tissue injuries, very few medications have strong evidence of a consistent therapeutic effect. On the other hand, surgical intervention is expensive, results in long recovery times, and may cause patients to experience subsequent pain levels to a degree that is equal to, or even exceeding, their pre-surgery levels.
Accordingly, it is desirable to improve the existing methods of treatment of soft tissue injuries. Furthermore, there is a need for minimally invasive methods to halt or reverse degeneration of soft tissues during the early stages of the disease.